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Using categories and tag clouds to increase indexed pages

This is a simple question, but one that I think is very important. I own sites that are built on blog platforms, and others that are flat HTML sites. The difference is obviously that blogs are a form of CMS which have category and tag functionality built in, whereas my flat HTML sites are hand-coded and don't have this functionality.

The great advantage of a CMS is ease of use, but the great advantage of hand-coding sites is that I get to change the page format or content layout from page to page if I want to.

My flat HTML sites are larger than my CMS built sites in terms of content, but have less pages indexed than the blog built sites. Consequently the blog sites seem to rank better.

Should I convert my hand-coded HTML sites to Wordpress which will provide category/tag and archive pages even though I'll have less flexibility, or should I simply look at getting more backlinks for these sites?

Should I convert my hand-coded HTML sites to Wordpress which will provide category/tag and archive pages even though I'll have less flexibility, or should I simply look at getting more backlinks for these sites?

I'm converting my flat sites to Wordpress to gain maintainability, not to increase the number of indexed pages.

A better trick to increase the number of indexed pages is to switch to Wordpress and then install Global Translator Pro.

Should I convert my hand-coded HTML sites to Wordpress which will provide category/tag and archive pages even though I'll have less flexibility, or should I simply look at getting more backlinks for these sites?

Yes, if you have more then about 10 pages, you should be using a content management system.

Regardless of what people are taught in web development classes, database driven content management systems are usually the best option. They are easier to update, easier to template, and are more flexible then static sites.

Yes, if you have more then about 10 pages, you should be using a content management system.

Regardless of what people are taught in web development classes, database driven content management systems are usually the best option. They are easier to update, easier to template, and are more flexible then static sites.

Broad statements like this are rarely true. So 10 pages is ok for a static HTML site, but 11 somehow puts me over the limit and now requires a CMS? Oops "about 10 pages"... so do I cut that off at 11? 12? 13? 20? 21?

I could have a 50 page site and a CMS could be a bad idea. To build a site using a CMS you typically have to go through the same steps as with a non-CMS site. Most businesses will typically need to have web design work done - coming up with the HTML and CSS that will render the web site with the look/feel they want, their logo, their color scheme, their font preferences, etc.

If you want that new web site to have your new design but to ALSO use a CMS, you have to code templates and components/widgets to generate the HTML from the web design so that it works with the CSS to produce the desired look. This means extra work to get it into a CMS.

But what if my site is NEVER or at least RARELY going to change? What if I want to build the site and forget about it (I only want something to put on a business card because the nature of my busines is that it HAS to be done offline)? There are lots of businesses and situation where sites like this make sense.

So saying, "if you have more then about 10 pages, you should be using a content management system" is not necessarily a true statements. The MAIN thing a CMS offers is the ability to modify pages and add new pages via a UI instead of getting a developer involved.

So you have to weigh more than the number of pages when deciding whether or not to use a CMS. How often the site is going to change should likely be a more important consideration. Whether you have the ability to program the site (or developers who can) and the bandwidth to do so should also be considered. Also whether you can settle for publicly available templates (like free or premium wordpress themes) or whether you need a custom look and feel for you site should figure into the decision as well. There are other factors that should also be considered. But the sheer number of pages is only one of many factors to consider in the decision.